Document the status of your site, using information from whatever source you find most useful. You will not need to submit this documentation for LEED, but it’s worth having on file.

If you are unable to determine whether or not your site contains or is prime farmland, contact your local NRCS department for help. See the Resources tab for a link. 

If you are still unsure whether your project is located on prime farmland, look at the USDA Web Soils Survey map program through the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS). See the Resources section for a link. Follow these steps:

As an initial step, search for prime farmland on the USDA website for your state or county. Some states and counties have more information than others, but you should be able to find a map of your county that delineates prime farmland from other types of uses.

Not all farmland is considered “prime”—dry, western ranges, for example, are typically excluded. Even if a site is being farmed, check whether it is prime according to USDA definitions.

“Prime farmland” is defined by USDA in the United States Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7, Volume 6, Parts 400–699, Section 657.5 (citation 7CFR657.5): “Prime farmland is land that has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food, feed, forage, fiber and oilseed crops, and is also available for these uses (the land could be cropland, pastureland, rangeland, forest land or other land, but not urban built-up land or water).

Determine whether your project is located on prime farmland. 

Prime Farmland

Retain files and printouts documenting each of the credit areas for future reference.

If you find your project does meet all the criteria after reviewing each one, you are ready to document the credit. To do so, you’ll simply need to provide information on your project location and check off appropriate boxes verifying credit compliance.